South Africa, George: Five dead and 49 missing in multi-storey building collapse

Shafiq Tsim/Reuters

A drone view of a building collapse site where several construction workers are believed to be trapped in George, South Africa, May 6, 2024.

CNN
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Five people were killed and 49 were still missing after a multi-storey building collapsed Monday afternoon in George Town, South Africa, officials said Tuesday.

Rescue operations are still underway, and 26 people have been pulled from under the rubble since the building collapsed in the Western Cape province at around 2pm local time (8am EDT) on Monday, the George Municipality said in a statement.

The statement stated that “three teams of rescuers are currently working in three different areas inside the site of the collapsed building.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences in a statement issued by his office on Tuesday, saying: “The President’s thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones as well as the families of the nearly 50 people trapped under the rubble.”

Ramaphosa also called for an investigation into how the incident occurred “to bring closure to society and prevent a recurrence of this disaster.” The statement said.